Mushroom Pâté with Walnuts – Packed Full of Vegan Umami Goodness

If you like a quick and easy spread that’s full of umami flavours and packed with goodness, this mushroom pâté with walnuts and butter beans might be for you. It’s easy to make, delicious for vegetarians and great for vegans too.

Veganuary – Day 9

Following on from my Veganuary Day 5 post with beetroot miso soup, I’m pleased to say I’m still enjoying the challenge. For breakfast, I have these 31 healthy vegan breakfast recipes to inspire me. Furthermore, on the days I’m working from home, lunch has proved to be no problem at all. In fact I’ve been relishing it and mostly have something different every day. However, I do need something quick and easy for a packed lunch when I’m working in my other job.

Sandwiches are by far and away the easiest thing to make, carry and eat, but what to put in them? I have my vegan cream cheese recipe, which is really good, but variety is the spice of life and all that. I require something else.

Mushroom Pâté with Walnuts & Butter Beans

The something else turns out to be this mushroom pâté with walnuts and butter beans. I’ve made mushroom pâté many times before, but never a vegan one. Normally, I’d use cream cheese. So, the question was, what could I replace it with to give the creamy quality which I like so much? The answer was very simple, butter beans. As their name suggests, these beans, otherwise known as lima beans are really quite buttery in texture and flavour. They’re my favourite beans for making dips and spreads as they mash down to a smooth and creamy paste.

Walnuts

Not that I wanted my mushroom pâté to be completely smooth. That’s what the walnuts are there for; a bit of texture as well as additional richness. Walnuts are little powerhouses of nutrition. They’re full of antioxidants, rich in omega 3 and contain a host of vitamins and minerals, particularly iron, selenium, calcium, zinc and vitamin E. Now I’m on a vegan diet and not eating or drinking dairy, I’m particularly concerned about calcium, as arthritis is rife in our family. Oh, I almost forgot, walnuts are also a good source of protein, something else I’m no longer getting from milk and cheese.

For this mushroom pâté recipe, I toasted the walnuts to intensify their flavour, but you don’t need to do this if you’re in a hurry or worried about taking your eye of the ball. They are very easy to burn. Do remember to stir them regularly whilst they’re toasting.

How to Make Mushroom Pâté

First you need to fry up some onion, garlic, thyme and mushrooms. Then it’s just a case of blitzing them in a food processor or blender along with the beans, walnuts and remaining ingredients until you get the consistency you want. Simple. I used my Vac2 Optimum air vacuum blender*, because it sits in my kitchen and is therefore convenient to use.

Once it’s made, you can eat it straight away. If there are a few of you to enjoy it, so much the better. Otherwise, pack it into glass jars and store it in the fridge. It should keep for up to a week. As this mushroom pâté is both vegan and gluten-free, it’s a dish most people can enjoy. Serve it as a dinner party starter with crackers or toast, or spread on crostini as canapés for a larger party. A slice of cucumber or pickle makes for a good topping.

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Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this mushroom pâté with walnuts and butter beans, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or via social media. Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them. For more delicious and nutritious recipes, follow me on Twitter, Facebook,Instagram or Pinterest.

Vegan Mushroom Pâté – PIN IT.

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I love the sound of homemade mushroom pate Choclette – and vegan too! I must confess that I’ve never made a homemade pate before, but I sure do fancy giving this a go – it’s so straigh forward and sounds gorgeous. xx

This looks absolutely delicious! I can imagine that butter beans are perfect for pate and it’s definitely something I’d love to try soon as well. I’m wondering if I could get my children to eat it too! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!

Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog

10th January 2019 at 3:43 pm

My Mum used to buy something like this from the health food shop when I was a child – it takes me right back. There were a few different flavours and the mushroom one was my favourite. It looks delicious!

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Hello, I’m Choclette. I’m a vegetarian whole food recipe developer. I have a sweet tooth and a passion for baking and chocolate. Welcome to my award winning blog. Here you will find nourishing home cooked food with a twist as well as wholesome foodie tales.